


Bitter Pill

by Golden_Asp



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: I am a Bitch, I'm Sorry, I'm hurting him again, M/M, Nothing but angst, Stabby Stabby, and give me your hearts, confusion effect, kneel before me, more implied ignoct than anything, no happy ending, someone needs to take Ignis away from me, the queen of angst is back on her throne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:07:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14214810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Asp/pseuds/Golden_Asp
Summary: A flash of color, agony like he'd never felt before, and the shock of seeing Noctis tear the blade from his side.





	Bitter Pill

**Author's Note:**

> So. Hi. Don't expect this to be happy. Which seriously shouldn't shock anyone. I'm sorry, Ignis. I do bad things to you. It's how I show my affection.   
> I wrote this in about 20 minutes. not beta-ed.

A flash of blue and red sparks erupted from the corner of his vision. Noctis, warping with his newly found blade Ragnarok. Ignis found himself wishing he had time to just stop and watch. As always, Noctis was beautiful mid battle, deadly.

He turned his attention back to the killer wasp flying at his face, stinger lowering to attack him. 

Something slammed into him from behind, agony like he had never known exploding through his body.

The force of the blow had him turning, and he expected to see another wasp.

He saw it all in flashes.

Noctis, twisting the blade and tearing it from Ignis’ flesh. Gladio, screaming his name. Prompto, hitting the final wasp with everything he had. Blood, his own blood, spraying across his king’s face. His daggers falling to the ground, his body slipping sideways, the shining of his organs as he hit the ground.

Noctis, screaming a battle cry and raising the blade again. Ignis made no move to stop him. He couldn’t. He could barely move, agony arching through him, every breath painful.

Ah, one of my lungs has collapsed, he thought numbly, staring up at Noctis’ face.

Noctis’ pupils were blown wide, and Ignis knew. Noctis, his Noctis, was confused. He had no idea that he had just torn half of Ignis’ guts out, spreading them across the dry grass.

The grass would be particularly green here next year, he thought morbidly.

Gladio slammed into Noctis from behind, wrapping his arms around the king’s neck in a chokehold. Noctis snarled, Ragnarok disappearing in a flash of blue as he struggled against Gladio’s hold. Gladio tightened his grasp, unable to tear his eyes from Ignis.

An eternity and moments later Noctis went limp, Gladio lowered him to the ground, diving next to Ignis.

Prompto was already there, cracking potion after potion in Ignis’ hand, trying desperately to get the wound to close.

Gladio didn’t need to look at it closely to know it was hopeless. Even Insomnia’s best surgeons would’ve had a hell of a time putting Ignis back together. Gladio could feel Ignis’ blood soaking through the knees of his pants, and he could see the blood pulsing from obliterated blood vessels, Ignis’ life spurting from his body with every beat of his heart. His hands hovered uselessly over Ignis’ stomach. He had no idea where to touch him.

Ignis’ breathing was rapid and shallow, blood leaking from between his lips, pupils tiny pinpricks from the pain. So much pain.

Prompto cracked another potion, biting back a sob. Ignis lifted a hand weakly, covering Prompto’s. 

“Enough,” Ignis whispered, coughing thickly. He felt the desire to apologize to Prompto for spraying him with blood.

“NO!” Prompto said, hand twitching under Ignis’. “No, no, no! You can’t give up!”

Ignis blinked. Prompto sounded like he was thousands of miles away, yelling at Ignis through a tube.

Gladio covered their hands. “Prom, go give Noct a remedy. But…don’t wake him up,” Gladio said hoarsely. Prompto looked at Gladio, blue eyes bloodshot with tears. He shook his head, taking gulping breaths. Ignis gave Prompto’s hand a gentle squeeze. At least, he thought he did. His body didn’t seem to be responding to his will.

Prompto crawled over to Noctis, cracking a remedy in his hand, trying to ignore his dying friend.

“Ignis,” Gladio whispered, voice breaking. Ignis tried to bring his focus to Gladio, but it was so hard. He could feel every beat of his heart through his body. He was cold. So very cold.

He was dying, and Noctis had killed him.

Oh, Noctis. 

More pain than he had ever thought possible surged through his heart. Noctis would never forgive himself for this. He would blame himself, hate himself, hurt himself, possibly try to kill himself in his guilt.

And Ignis wouldn’t be there to stop him, to offer him comfort, to hold him.

He let out a broken cry. That hurt so much more than the gaping, ragged, wound in his side.

“Shhh, don’t try to talk,” Gladio said, brushing Ignis’ hair off his head. Gladio finally got a better look. Ignis’ side was split open like an overripe watermelon, blood and viscera staining the ground.

“Gl-Gla-Gladio,” Ignis managed to get out.

“Shut up, idiot,” Gladio barked, hiding his fear behind being gruff.

“Gladio, swear…swear…” Ignis coughed wetly, blood erupting from his mouth. Each cough made the organs, glistening in the dim light of the stars, quiver and quake. Gladio felt like he was going to be sick. He could just hear Prompto sobbing behind him.

“Swear to me!” Ignis cried, body arching in pain. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore. The pain was starting to fade. “Never…never tell him,” he whispered.

“Ignis,” Gladio whispered.

“Swear it!” Ignis barked, body going limp. “Pr-promise me. He can never know it was…it was…” more wet coughs, more blood. “He can never know.”

“Ignis,” Gladio said again. It wasn’t fair. He had watched his king tear apart his best friend, and Ignis was still only worried about Noctis. Gladio knew that Ignis loved Noctis. He wasn’t stupid.

“Promise me,” Ignis whispered, head falling back against the grass.

Gladio let the tears fall. “I swear on the house Amicitia, Noctis will never know from me or Prompto that your death was at his hand.”

Ignis let his eyes fall closed, then forced them open. His glasses had fallen off at some point. He struggled to turn his head, to look at Noctis.

“My glasses,” he croaked. Gladio put them on Ignis’ face with shaking hands.

Ignis looked at his unconscious king, his Noctis. “I don’t want to die without him,” he whispered.

“Then you won’t,” Gladio said hoarsely. He made his way over to Prompto and Noctis, using the phoenix down to revive the king from his unconscious state.

Noctis groaned. He felt like shit. His throat was sore, and his body ached. What had happened?

He could hear Prompto crying, and he felt Gladio’s rough hands sit him up. He rubbed his face. His mind felt fuzzy. What the fuck had happened?

He saw that Gladio was crying too and his heart fell. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Gladio cry.

“Gla—”

“Ignis,” Gladio said shortly, voice heavy with tears.

Noctis spun, eyes widening.

Ignis lay on the grass, staring up at the sky. He could see the grass stained black, and organs that were never meant to be outside the body glistening.

“Ignis!” he cried, launching himself across the space. Ignis blinked slowly, blood coating his lips. He coughed, and Noctis lifted his head into his lap.

“Hold on,” Noctis whispered. “We’ll get you to a hospital. You’ll be okay.”

Ignis tried to smile, but his lips were numb.

“What did this? I’ll destroy them!” Noctis sobbed, petting Ignis’ hair back.

Ignis opened his mouth, more blood gushing forth. Noctis wiped his lips, leaning close to hear Ignis.

“No…nothing…to be…done,” Ignis said. Noctis let out a scream. Ignis was _dying_ and there was nothing he could do about.

“Please, Iggy, please please don’t leave me,” Noctis sobbed. His father, his city, please, gods, please, not Ignis.

“A…afraid…I…don’t have…much of a choice…” Ignis said around the blood. “Doesn’t…doesn’t even…hurt…anymore.”

No, what hurt was the look in Noctis’ eyes, those blue orbs swimming with tears, face pale and blood stained. What hurt was knowing he wouldn’t be there for Noctis.

“Iggy,” Noctis whispered, tears streaming down his face. He wasn’t even aware of Prompto and Gladio watching, holding each other, crying openly.

“Noct,” Ignis said. He was so cold, his body numb. He could just see the stars beyond Noct’s hair. They were beautiful. Noctis was beautiful. Ignis reached a trembling hand to Noctis’ cheek.

“Noc…”

Noctis felt Ignis go limp, a last ragged breath escaping between his lips. His hand slipped from Noctis’ face, leaving a bloody trail across his pale skin. His hand hit the ground, almost seeming to echo with the finality of his life.

Noctis screamed, struggling to pull Ignis’ body into his arms. He rocked back and forth, the sound escaping his throat a pained cry. 

Gladio lunged forward, pulling Noctis into his arms. Noctis kept screaming, turning his fists on Gladio, beating against his chest.

“What did it?” he screamed into Gladio’s chest.

Gladio’s arms tightened around Noctis, eyes drawn back to Ignis’ body. He seemed to be staring at the sky, at the stars that he and Noct had loved so much. But Gladio knew the truth. Ignis would never see the stars again.

“A daemon,” he said finally, his last promise to Ignis echoing hollowly in his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> someone should really take Ignis away from me. I'm mean to him.
> 
> comments and kudos are love.


End file.
